Patch 5.2 - Increased Drop Rates in 5.0 LFR
It seems that the LFR drop rates will be increased for the current Patch 5.0 LFR content once Patch 5.2 is released.

Defense of the Alehouse
It appears that Defense of the Alehouse may be the DotA style battleground that is under development. It looks like many of the buildings are placeholders, so keep in mind this is still a very early preview.

It is unlikely this battleground will be in Patch 5.2, as the last official word was that it still needed new tech. Also, see the below tweet from Ghostcrawler that was in response to existing quiver models, but also applies to this preview.

Patch 5.2 - LFR Item Level Requirement

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Just checked out the PTR, and there's an ilvl486 requirement to enter the new LFR.

Now, there's no new 5 mans to buff our ilvl, so for non-raiders... exactly how are we supposed to reach this without PvP when the current LFRs drop 476 and 483s? Am I missing something here? Do you expect non-raiders to spend months (to the point the raid after thunder king is released) getting valor to buy that gear for ilvl?

I know it's PTR, and it might just be inflated for testing purposes, but it seems a bit weird that you would place the ilvl requirement for the new raid above the ilvl of the gear that drops in the previous LFR.
I think you've hit the nail on the head by saying it's a PTR. That's the most important thing to remember. We'll do our best to keep you informed on where we end up with the item level for the Raid Finder when we can.

With some of the really unpopular changes being pushed from the PTR to the live realms, there's a feeling by several of us in the community that if we don't speak up (and speak up a lot) over things that we greatly dislike.... Then it'll go live.

We know it's the PTR, but realistically... I don't think we'd be having the level of conversation concerning it if it had even been 483. (A much more realistic number as this is the Ilevel for the current LFR drops.)

The other frustrating part is that several of the people saying this isn't a big deal don't seem to understand that the requirement works off an average. Not simply having one piece at that point. There seems to be a lack of understanding with how this system actually works.
Completely understood and we do want people to speak up about their experiences or thoughts as long as they remember to remain constructive, (which you have.) My post wasn't meant as a, "OK stop talking now." It was just meant as a way of conveying that it is still PTR and things could have the potential to change. Please feel free to continue to discuss though.

Blue Posts

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Eye of the Black Prince Issue
There’s currently no way to obtain an additional Eye of the Black Prince, and we’re aware it can create a situation where people are deterred from wanting to upgrade their items. That’s not the intent, we want you to use it and enjoy the upgrade then and there, and so we’re looking into a way for players to obtain additional sockets similar to how you can purchase additional legendary gems. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

WoW City SizesBecause they are really just a representation. Having all the villages, towns etc their *proper* sizes would make them massive ingame.
Pretty much this. Massive in-game towns and cities can become tedious and annoying real fast in MMORPGs because of the increased travel distances they cause... you already spend a lot of time travelling around in WoW (and other games like it), so if everything from small towns to huge continents were redone so that everything has realistic proportion and size, you would need enormous amounts of time just to travel from place to place.

Towns and cities may look really awesome and have the perfect atmosphere if they are of realistic size in games (I personally know this from other MMORPGs I have played(Yes, I enjoyed playing them)), but it is annoying to be in them because you always have a lot of running to do even for the simplest tasks that are supposed to be quick... long runs between vendors, quest NPCs, banks, AHs, and other points of interest. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Tweets

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

UI / AddonsCould a role selection (DPS etc), be implemented on the calendar when players sign up for events? Would make life easier!
Yes, we'd like to add that. (Source)

What exactly is your stance regarding that? There are a lot of addons that could vastly improve the glyph interface.
Philosophically, we have no problem with customization, just automation. Would like to allow former while protecting the latter. (Source)

Please stop being so restrictive about the Glyph/Talent UI. It's driving people nuts, I loathe the moment I have to change!
Philosophically, we don't want automating talent or glyph swaps. Once it's easy to reglyph every pull, players feel like they must. (Source)I'm sorry did you just say you use "bugs" to prevent reglyphing every pull? Or misunderstood Znuff's tweet?
I said we want to be very careful about the degree to which we let players automate talent or gylph swapping. (Source)improve the glyph interface? it's already wickedly easy to use and simple. some players and their addon addictions
Philosophically, we're okay with players changing the UI. We just want to protect against too much automation. (Source)

Ever thought about adding a UI feature/option that displayed character health as number & percentage, instead of either/or?
Yes, and you should be able to try it out in 5.2. (Source)

Hey who makes those icons for all the spells and abilities? I love those icon art!
The art team shares the work. Good icons are hard to do so it's amazing they can make so many. (Source)

can you guys improve the BM AH UI sometime down the road? I just lost 25k gold thinking i bid on a mount but it didn't.
Is it the "hot deals" button that throws people off? (Source)It's confusion between trying to bid on a short/ending and having your money automatically go to hot deal.
We can just have one bid button. I think that is in the works for 5.2. (Source)

Reputation / QuestingWhy are dungeon tabards a mistake? Alot of people WANT them back so that they are not forced into doing dalies.
Let me put it this way: What if dungeon tabards gave Honor, then you wouldn't have to PvP either? (Source)

Rep Tabards weren't a mistake, removing them was. They allowed multiple ways to get rep, which was great if you hate dailies.
Today, gear can come from dungeons, reps, raiding, PvP or crafting. (Source)
They allowed dungeons to give rep, valor and purples, making them the only real option. (Source)

Not sure if you're the guy, but 5.1 rep grind was great. It didn't feel like a grind. You wanted to progress the story.
We agree. It felt more reasonable. (Source)You should not send people into enemy hubs in PVE dailies. You should not put PVP objectives in a PVE zone
Why? (Source)

But endless rep grinding is an artificial way of trying to prolong an exp. It's not fun, it's boring busy-work
None of those reps are anything you absolutely must have, and by "endless" aren't we really talking about a few weeks? (Source)Not required? No profession recipes or valor gear if I don't. More than one character. Game shouldn't feel like a job.
I think you mean "I want to get ALL the recipes." You don't need e.g. Royal Satchel or Gloves of Creation. (Source)

Will we ever need the extra Sigils from the legendary questline once we've completed the quest? Or can we trash them safely?
Trash away (unless you're a compulsive packrat). (Source)

Like dailies now? They suck, but provided the most efficient way to grind Valor/rep unlike Mech there is no alternative
Raids, dungeons, scenarios and challenge modes offer a pretty good alternative for valor generation. How bad do you need the rep? (Source)

Ghostcrawler - Getting in to the Gaming Industry
Ghostcrawler's first longer than 140 character post in a few months was a reply to an eight year old that wants to get in to the gaming industry. He included some advice that was relevant to everyone!

Is always 8 or 80 with Blizzard, Why? I agree that bring back the tabards isn't the solution, but they could balance things, use both, more relevant factions like Dominance offensive should use only the Daily Quest system, I agree with that, but factions with less relevance in the lore should had the tabards available for dungeons, we would not be stucked only with daily quests everywhere and the reputation grind wouldn't be so tiring and boring, even for alts. I repeat, why must it be one or another? why not balance things and use both?

Well I am gonna go ahead and assume that no matter what people say, tabards will not make a come back anytime soon. I just do not do any daily that I do not want to do. I did dailies for rep on one toon to get exalted and that was enough for me. I have 10 other alts but I just do not care anymore about raiding, progression. I am gonna spend my 15 bucks to play the game how I want to play it from now on. Eventually I will get bored and take another break. The game is what it is, no use in crying over something that will never change. Blizzard has made a great game, and hopefully will continue to get better at perfecting it. Just play the game and be happy for god sakes.....lol

Nice sarcasm but he is completely right. They should have removed reputation tabards a long time ago. I guess only people who played before WotLK understand how ridiculous those tabards were.

I play from 2005 and I agree that we need dungeon rep. Either like TBC rep/dungeon or like wrath&cate with a tabard. If dailies and dungeon runs would give the same rep and people would chose to do the dungeons, it just means nobody likes dailies and they should stop putting development time into them.
Fact: if dungeons and dailies would give more equal rewards, both would be avaible for players and both contents will be used by players and neither group will feel left out.

Dungeons in MOP are terrible. No reason to keep doing them even if you found an amazing team in a dungeon, you just leave at the end because you only get 40VP for the next one. First Blizzard destroys realm communities by introducing LFD and now they even don't want you to make friends in LFD anymore. I didn't notice the point where suicidal goth hipsters became the target market for Blizzard.
I'm sure the community will benefit greatly from letting people do simple solo content instead of learning them how to play and communicate in a group. Blizzard is so good in planning for the future and recognising how important the MM and RP are in an MMORPG to keep contineous subs. Who knows maybe that's why they went from 10mil to 2mil EU+NA subs.

if you're the kind of person that values community then you already have a good guild with friends. that's who you would be grouping with. if you're constantly hooking up with strangers then you must not value community very much. it's a choice.

You should not send people into enemy hubs in PVE dailies. You should not put PVP objectives in a PVE zone
Why?

Because i'm not on a PVP server, obviously I don't want to PVP "what about people that want to do both?" you may ask, :O PVP dailies with honor/conq rewards.

---------- Post added 2013-01-09 at 03:27 AM ----------

But endless rep grinding is an artificial way of trying to prolong an exp. It's not fun, it's boring busy-work
None of those reps are anything you absolutely must have, and by "endless" aren't we really talking about a few weeks?

I thought it was a few weeks till I was about to hit exalted and I was all happy like yea now I have free time since I don't have to do these dailies anymore and eventually I won't have to do any WRONG how else do I get my Lesser Charms, looks like it's dailies forever.

Not required? No profession recipes or valor gear if I don't. More than one character. Game shouldn't feel like a job.
I think you mean "I want to get ALL the recipes." You don't need e.g. Royal Satchel or Gloves of Creation.

Oh those are the only recipes out there huh could have sworn there were more #scratchingHead

Defense of the Alehouse.... eh? eeeeh? .... Got nothing.
Looking forward to being able to get more eyes, currently it definitely suffers from that "I could use it...but mabye something better drops soon" lack of use.

I play from 2005 and I agree that we need dungeon rep. Either like TBC rep/dungeon or like wrath&cate with a tabard. If dailies and dungeon runs would give the same rep and people would chose to do the dungeons, it just means nobody likes dailies and they should stop putting development time into them.
Fact: if dungeons and dailies would give more equal rewards, both would be avaible for players and both contents will be used by players and neither group will feel left out.

Dungeons in MOP are terrible. No reason to keep doing them even if you found an amazing team in a dungeon, you just leave at the end because you only get 40VP for the next one. First Blizzard destroys realm communities by introducing LFD and now they even don't want you to make friends in LFD anymore. I didn't notice the point where suicidal goth hipsters became the target market for Blizzard.
I'm sure the community will benefit greatly from letting people do simple solo content instead of learning them how to play and communicate in a group. Blizzard is so good in planning for the future and recognising how important the MM and RP are in an MMORPG to keep contineous subs. Who knows maybe that's why they went from 10mil to 2mil EU+NA subs.

Dungeons lost importance somewhere in Wrath when they made them one-button friendly and that's it - they are just too easy.

Cataclysm release dungeons were a challenge but mostly to healers with the revamped healing system, everyone else was still pressing one button for high DPS, while the healers without adequate gear struggled a bit. MoP dungeons are again a walk in the park again. Imagine having TBC dungeons like Shadow Lab, with todays players, like yesterday every single LFD I did put me in a group where one or two of the DPS was pulling 15-20k dps at level 90 and I was pulling aggro away from the Tank (which is not possible in todays times with vengeance etc) - It would be impossible to do any hard dungeons with those kinds of weekend players, who probably don't even understand their class properly.

And of course there's no point doing dungeons for anything but to cap Valor if you're out gearing the content by 20 ilvls or more, it was always like that even in the old days, but in the old days, gearing your character in full epics or even good blues took about 3-5 months instead 3-5 weeks it takes now.

As for challenge, you got the challenge modes, where the dungeons become significantly harder, the rewards are cosmetic tho.

Blizzard wants you to do quests for factions in the world, not slap on a fugly tabard and watch the Rep Bar slowly rise.
From here you're free to tinfoil around about slowing people down intentionally for subs.

Congratulations, you just figured out how MMOs work.

Rep Tabards ruined factions completely and I'm so glad they're gone. Hard to find a so called balance for those who say they want a balanced solution.
So if every finished heroic gave a set amount of reputation with a faction of choice... low amount slower than dailies because you also get Justice, Valor and 463 you might need.
And then people would start bitching about it, saying it'd take too much time to reach whatever goddamn rep level they want."I NEED TO DO 60 DUNGEONS HONORED -> REVERED WTF BLIZZ, 60 DUNGEONS IS WORTH X + Y AMOUNT OF VALOR I CAN'T SPEND FU!!1"

If you don't want to do dailies, alright. Your choice. Just don't expect to reap the rewards anyway for doing easy 5man content which also earns you other currencies and items.
When did people stop understanding that in MMOs, you will have to do repetitive tasks in order to progress. Blizzard is very good at finding balance, but no. If you want to buy Valor items you get your lazy arse to Honored, and that takes merely a few DAYS.

Because i'm not on a PVP server, obviously I don't want to PVP "what about people that want to do both?" you may ask, :O PVP dailies with honor/conq rewards.
Then you're not flagged for PVP, making the whole thing a non-issue.

Don't I have to /pvp to capture towers in the world?

Oh those are the only recipes out there huh could have sworn there were more #scratchingHead
If you're not willing to put in the hard work, why should you be rewarded with the best there is? I'm quite sure there are lesser versions of everything available from profession trainers.

The point of my argument was that he (the blue) used items that aren't needed by anyone (save the gloves) and through emission ignores the items that are needed (enchants), I personally already have mine.

what is it with these people who need to have everything on every character, and then when its too hard they say it feels like a job. How about going out, getting a job, and spending less time playing wow, then you will cherish the time spent playing, not resent it.

I don't see what upping the drop chances will change when the big problem will still be that the waiting times for the old LFR raids will be atrocious in 5.2.
The biggest problem is that there are 5 different LFRs and that splits up the players. Even now i have to wait 40 minutes as a DPS and 10-15 minutes as a healer the day after the resets, once 5.2 hits and only alts will do them you will never see one open up. Since even if there are 15 healers interested any given time there are probably 3 queing up for Mogu 1, 2 for Mogu2, 3 for HoF1, 4 for HoF2 and 3 for Terrace.
That won't work.